Police operation against Indigenous protest over water leaves dozens injured and detained

Peaceful Assembly

Police violence after peaceful Indigenous protest in southern Brazil

On 27th November 2024, Military Police units from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, including riot police, carried out a violent operation inside the Dourados Indigenous Reserve in southern Brazil. The operation followed a peaceful protest by members of the Terena and Guarani Kaiowá Indigenous peoples, who were demanding access to water amid long-standing shortages affecting at least 5,000 residents of the reserve.

The protest began on the MS-156 highway, a state road that runs through the reserve. Police advanced on protesters on the highway and forced them back into the reserve, continuing the operation as far as the Jaguapiru village. According to Indigenous organisations, officers entered residential areas and used rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades, including near or inside homes.

Indigenous organisations also reported that at least four Indigenous people were detained and that arrest warrants were presented during the operation. They also stated that approximately 50 people were injured, including women and a child who required hospital treatment. The Indigenous Special Health District (DSEI), a federal body responsible for healthcare in Indigenous territories, organised an emergency response to assist those injured.

Community members said that ambulances were prevented from entering the area during the police operation. Videos recorded by residents and later compiled by the Assembly Aty Guasu and the Indigenist Missionary Council (Cimi) appeared to show what the organisations described as excessive and indiscriminate use of force against unarmed civilians. Following the operation, Indigenous people from other parts of the reserve mobilised in solidarity, and protesters later reblocked the MS-156 highway.

The escalation prompted the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) to travel to the reserve to seek mediation. Indigenous leaders reiterated that the protest had been peaceful and focused solely on access to water, an issue that has remained unresolved in the territory for decades. The operation took place amid heightened legal scrutiny of police violence against Indigenous peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul, following a constitutional complaint filed before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), which was assigned to Justice Gilmar Mendes in October 2024.

Protesters demand accountability after police violence in São Paulo

On 5th December 2024, protesters gathered in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, to demand the resignation of Guilherme Derrite, the state’s Secretary of Public Security, after video footage circulated showing a military police officer throwing a man from a bridge. The images prompted public outrage and renewed scrutiny of police violence in Brazil’s most populous state.

The protest took place amid growing concern over security policies adopted by the São Paulo state government, which critics describe as increasingly aggressive. Later in December, civil society organisations submitted a formal communication to the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), warning of rising police lethality in São Paulo.

Civil society mobilises in Brasília against amnesty, abortion restrictions and long working hours

On 10th December 2024, hundreds of people marched in Brasília as part of the National Day of Mobilisations, coinciding with International Human Rights Day. The demonstration took place at Zumbi dos Palmares Square, a central public space in the capital, and was organised by the Povo Sem Medo and Brasil Popular fronts, two broad coalitions of social movements and trade unions.

The central demand of the protest was “No Amnesty” (“Sem Anistia”), opposing proposals to grant amnesty to individuals implicated in the attempted coup and attacks of 8th January 2023. On that date, supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro vandalised the National Congress, the Supreme Federal Court, and the Presidential Palace. Protesters referred to ongoing Federal Police investigations into the alleged involvement of Bolsonaro and senior political and military figures in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2022 presidential election.

Protesters also mobilised against Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) 164/2012, commonly referred to by activists as the “PEC do Estuprador.” The proposal seeks to define the right to life from conception and, if adopted, would effectively eliminate access to legal abortion, including in circumstances currently permitted under Brazilian law, such as rape, risk to the life of the pregnant person, and anencephaly. The protest followed the proposal’s approval by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Chamber of Deputies, the body responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of draft legislation, allowing it to advance within the legislative process.

In addition, protesters called for an end to the 6x1 working-time regime, under which workers have six consecutive working days followed by one day of rest. The issue gained renewed national attention after federal deputy Erika Hilton, of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), introduced a proposal to amend the Constitution to reduce the standard working week to four days. Labour activists highlighted the disproportionate impact of long working hours on Black communities and residents of peripheral urban areas, particularly women.

Indigenous protest against G20 leaders

On 16th November 2024, more than 10,000 people took part in the “Marcha de los Pueblos” along Avenida Atlântica in the Copacabana area of Rio de Janeiro, under a heavy police presence. Participating organisations denounced alleged human rights violations linked to conflicts abroad and raised concerns relating to climate justice, inequality, land rights and trade policy.

Activists also reported that security measures associated with the G20 Leaders’ Summit restricted access to parts of central Rio de Janeiro. According to organisers, these measures led to the displacement of people in street situations and informal workers, including recyclers and street vendors, in areas affected by security cordons. The 16th November demonstration followed a series of civil society mobilisations held in Rio de Janeiro in the days leading up to the G20 summit.

Expression

Photographer injured after explosive thrown during football match

On 10th November 2024, a photographer was injured during a football match in Belo Horizonte after supporters from Atlético Mineiro’s section threw explosive devices onto the pitch, according to media reports. The incident occurred while the match was under way and forced officials to halt play. Fragments from one of the detonated devices hit the photographer, who received medical treatment.

Journalists, sports commentators and fans condemned the incident and called for accountability for those responsible. They also urged sanctions against the club and stadium authorities, citing alleged failures in security planning and crowd control.

On 13th November 2024, Paula Litaiff, founder and editor of Revista Cenarium, a news outlet based in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in northern Brazil, reported receiving death threats directed at her and members of her family. Litaiff stated that the threats related to her journalistic work and identified Cilleide Moussalem, a blogger and owner of the news portal CM7, as the alleged source. Litaiff submitted an audio recording containing the threats to the police, and local media outlets later circulated the recording. Moussalem denied the allegations, stated that the audio was fabricated, and requested a forensic examination to verify its authenticity.

According to Litaiff, the incident followed the publication of an investigative report by Revista Cenarium examining public procurement contracts worth approximately R$87 million (around USD 18 million). The report raised questions about contracts allegedly involving Janary Wanderlei Gomes Rodrigues, Moussalem’s husband and a managing partner of Provisa, a private company operating in the region. Litaiff publicly called for the opening of a police investigation into both the threats and the reported contractual irregularities.

In response, several journalism and press freedom organisations, including the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj), issued public statements condemning the threats. The organisation also urged the Amazonas Public Security Secretariat, the state authority responsible for policing and criminal investigations, and other local institutions to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial inquiry.

Woman journalist seeks protection after online gender-based attacks

On 23rd December 2024, journalist Géssika Costa filed a police complaint with the Civil Police of Alagoas, in north-eastern Brazil, against Rodrigo Veridiano, a local radio host, over alleged misogynistic comments and gender-based harassment published on social media. Costa also requested an urgent protective measure to safeguard her physical and psychological integrity, a legal mechanism under Brazilian law available in cases involving threats or gender-based violence.

The complaint followed a series of personal and sexist attacks that occurred after Costa publicly criticised land subsidence in Maceió, the state capital, a long-running environmental and urban crisis linked to the operations of Braskem, a major Brazilian petrochemical and mining company.

The case prompted public condemnation from journalists’ unions and feminist organisations. The Journalists’ Union of Alagoas (Sindjornal) expressed solidarity with Costa and denounced the use of social media to intimidate women journalists.

Coordinated online attacks target journalist following investigative report

On 13th November 2024, individuals allegedly linked to the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) directed a coordinated campaign of harassment, verbal abuse and doxxing against Giovanni Pannunzio, a journalist with The Intercept Brasil, following the publication of an investigative report on suspected irregularities in the collection of signatures for the creation of the Partido Missão, a political party associated with the MBL, a right-wing political movement in Brazil.

The investigation included testimonies from multiple signatories who stated that organisers misled them about the purpose of the petition. Shortly after publication, senior MBL figures publicly attacked Pannunzio during live broadcasts on the movement’s online platforms.

During a YouTube livestream, Arthur do Val, a former state deputy and MBL coordinator, devoted more than an hour to discrediting the investigation and used insulting and homophobic language against the journalist. More than 10,000 viewers reportedly watched the livestream. The day before, another MBL coordinator, Renan Santos, had verbally attacked Pannunzio in a separate broadcast.

During the livestream, do Val accessed and displayed Pannunzio’s personal social media profiles, exposing private photographs and personal information. He also repeatedly called the journalist’s personal phone number on air, attempting to compel an unsolicited live interaction. After the broadcast, viewers engaged in coordinated online abuse against the journalist, according to media and civil society reports.

The Intercept Brasil stated that it sought comment from the MBL before publication and included the organisation’s response in line with standard journalistic practice. The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) condemned the attacks, stating that they exceeded legitimate criticism and amounted to intimidation, aimed at discrediting journalists and undermining the public’s right to information.

Court freezes journalist’s assets and orders article removal

On 14th January 2025, a state court in Paraná froze and emptied the personal and business bank accounts of journalist Marcelo Auler. The court enforced a damages award in favour of Judge Márcia Regina Hernandez de Lima, who serves at the 3rd Family Court of Pinhais, a municipal-level court.

The measures stem from a lawsuit filed by a judge of the same court, who claimed moral damages in relation to Auler’s reporting. Auler said that the courts classified his reporting as “false news”, despite his submission of documentary evidence and witness testimony supporting the factual basis of the articles.

Beyond freezing Auler’s accounts, the court ordered the removal of the articles and barred him from making public statements about the case. The court also placed the proceedings under judicial secrecy, a legal mechanism that restricts public access to court files and reasoning. The court initially set damages at R$40,000 (approximately USD 8,000), which was later reduced on appeal. Despite this reduction, enforcement measures reportedly reached around R$76,000.

In response, Auler’s legal team filed a constitutional complaint (Reclamação No. 67.543) before Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF), the country’s highest constitutional court. The complaint seeks to suspend the enforcement measures while the Court reviews the case.

The Coalition for the Defence of Journalism) Coalizão em Defesa do Jornalismo criticised the decision, calling on the Paraná courts to promptly unblock amounts linked to basic subsistence. The coalition reaffirmed that judicial authorities must remain subject to public scrutiny and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold constitutional protections for journalistic activity.